QMI Agency

OTTAWA — A national Muslim group has filed a defamation lawsuit against the prime minister.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) said Monday it launched the suit after Prime Minister Stephen Harper failed to apologize for linking the organization with the terrorist group Hamas.

Also named in the suit is Harper's spokesman, Jason MacDonald.

On Jan. 16, the NCCM asked Harper to reconsider allowing Rabbi Daniel Korobkin of Toronto to be part of an official delegation to Israel. The group claimed Korobkin had defended and praised anti-Muslim campaigners.

MacDonald responded by saying: "We will not take seriously criticism from an organization with documented ties to a terrorist organization such as Hamas."